Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 9:17

לא נודעתי להם. Wir finden freilich den Namen ה׳ bereits in der Geschichte und im Munde der Väter. Allein es ist hier durchaus nicht von einer bloßen Kenntnis des Namens die Rede. דעת שם ד׳ ist ein viel Tieferes, das in seiner Vollendung vielleicht erst am Ende aller geschichtlichen Erfahrung unser Erbteil wird. So Jesaias 52, 6 von dieser letzten Ge'ula: לכן ידע עמי שמי. Es heißt überhaupt: Verstehen, welche Gotteswaltung dieser Name bedeutet. Ein Verständnis, das vollständig erst aus der Erfahrung aller Zeiten reift, und die Väter standen erst am Anfang der Zeiten! ושמי ד׳ לא נודעתי להם, wie: נודע ד׳ משפט עשה Ps. 9, 17: als derjenige, dessen Name ד׳ ist, bin ich ihnen nicht zur Erkenntnis geworden.

ואכבדה בפרעה AND I WILL BE HONOURED THROUGH PHARAOH — When the Holy One, blessed be He, takes vengeance on the wicked His name is magnified and honoured. Thus, too, it states, (Ezekiel 38:22, 23) “And I will plead against him [with pestilence and with blood etc.]”, and afterwards, “Thus I shall be magnified and sanctified etc.” And it states, (Psalms 76:3) “There He broke the fiery shafts of the bow”, and afterwards (after He has done this) (v. 2) “In Judah is God known. “Further it states, (Psalms 9:17) “The Lord is known because He executeth judgment” (Mekhilta).

Another approach to our verse is this: Moses did not ask G'd to extend His pardon to all the people who had spurned Him, but only ועתה יגדל נא כח השם, to exact retribution from the perpetrators who spurned Him, from the spies themselves. When G'd is perceived as punishing the wicked His name is sanctified and exalted. Moses added: כאשר דברת, referring to G'd having said in verse 12 that He would smite them with pestilence. This statement could be read as referring only to the spies themselves. Moses added the word נא meaning "now," suggesting the spies be punished immediately as only then would their death be understood as the penalty for their crime. G'd complied with Moses' request as we read in 14,37 that "the men who had slandered the land died through pestilence in the presence of G'd." Please read on what I have written on that verse. The reason Moses added the word לאמור may be that He asked G'd to tell the spies before their deaths why they were being punished. It is also possible that Moses wanted G'd to tell the Israelites that the people who had spread lies about the land were being punished in order to frighten the people into not causing G'd to become angry again on their account. We find something analogous in Psalms 9,17 בפעל כפיו נוקש רשע הגיון סלה, "He works judgments; the wicked man is snared by his own devices. Higgayon, Selah." [The verse comes on the heels of the Psalmist demonstrating that G'd's powers of retribution were seen to have reached the enemies of the Jewish people. Ed.] The initials of the words ועתה יגדל נא כח equal the numerical value of the name of G'd, i.e. 86. The name used for G'd in the verse is also a reference to G'd in His capacity as Judge. Having said all this, Moses reverts to ask G'd's mercy for the people.